A Spooky Little Ghoul Like You
by Scoobyfan1
Summary: Part of my 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo fan fic series, with Fred and Velma and without Scrappy Doo. Scooby and the gang head to New Orleans to see Vincent Van Ghoul recieve a prestigeous award, but a sinister blonde beauty has other plans. Pairings: some minor Velma/Shaggy, as well as some minor Fred/Daphne moments. Currently being re-edited.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: Scooby Doo and all related characters are copyright 2009 Hanna-Barbera Productions/Warner Brothers/Cartoon Network. No challenge to their ownership is implied; I am not making any money from writing this story, I am just a fan and I am writing this simply for fun.

Chapter 1

Our story opens in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Wart and Warlock Hotel as the world famous group of detectives known as Mystery Inc. cheer on their warlock friend Vincent Van Ghoul at the Warlock of the Year awards banquet at which Vincent is set to receive said award.

Meanwhile two familiar ghostly figures wait inside the lobby of the hotel sight unseen, they are preparing to work for yet another of the phantoms from the infamous Demon Chest who plans to cause some major trouble for Mystery Inc.

A beautiful blonde woman wearing a red dress then entered the hotel and looks around, at first glance she wouldn't seem to be much of a threat except maybe to someone who had a steady boyfriend or girlfriend or to someone who was married; Weerd and Bogel, the two ghosts who tricked Shaggy Rogers and Scooby Doo, two members of the aforementioned Mystery Inc. to open the Chest of Demons see the woman walk in and go over to meet her.

"Are you Nicara?" Weerd asked curiously.

"Yes, who wants to know?" replied the woman.

"We're Weerd and Bogel, the two ghosts that are supposed to be working for you" Weerd explained.

"Yes I've heard of you two, unfortunately" the woman said with some dismay in her voice.

"You've heard of us? Then you must be from the Chest of Demons right?" Weerd asked.

"Very perceptive of you two" Nicara frowned.

"Ooh, ooh what are you going to do now that you're free from the Chest of Demons Nicara?" Bogel wondered.

"First of all, I'm wondering why I have to work with you two and then I'm going to explain my plan," the blonde woman said with some anger in her voice.

"Why are you going to do that boss, we're just trying to help you out" Weerd replied.

"From what I've heard about you two from the other ghosts from the chest, your kind of help isn't what I need; now if you two will be quiet I can explain my plan" she continued.

"Oh, we're sorry your evilness" Weerd remarked.

"Yeah we didn't mean anything by it" Bogel replied.

"Will you two kooky spooks knock it off!" the blonde woman declared with her voice raised.

"Now, at this hotel are Vincent Van Ghoul and hundreds of other Warlocks; I plan to use my powers to drain each and every one of them, because tonight is Friday the 13th, which is the only night that my powers will work on each of the warlocks; then once I have the powers of every warlock in the building I shall be invincible!" Nicara declared, laughing evilly.

"Nicara, how are you going to use your powers to drain Vincent Van Ghoul and each of the warlocks?" Weerd asked.

"I will use my trance of love to hypnotize and then drain the magic from each simple minded sorcerer in this hotel before midnight, does that answer your question?" the blonde woman explained.

"Sure does, but why don't you kiss us before you kiss the warlocks just to make sure your powers still work" Weerd remarked.

"Yeah, after being cooped up in the Chest of Demons so long your powers might be out of whack" Bogel added.

"No thank you, besides I'm afraid if I did that I would catch whatever makes you two so stupid" Nicara explained, glaring at the two ghosts all the while.

With that Nicara, Bogel and Weerd entered into the lobby of the great hotel and prepared to commence their nefarious plans; the trio of villainous figures stood looking around for any and all ways to drain the attendees of the Warlock of the Year convention.

The evil enchantress and her two ghostly partners came up on a man with black hair wearing a blue suit and standing at what looked to be a wooden podium; Nicara decided that this was the right time to try out her trance like powers and stared into the man's eyes.

The gentleman noticed the shadows of the two ghosts and their boss approaching and wondered what these three wanted, as well as why they were in the hotel.

"Yes can I help you?" the man asked.

"I certainly hope so; could you tell me where the Warlock of the Year banquet is being held?" Nicara asked.

"I'm sorry miss, but unless you have an invitation I can't let you in" the man replied.

"Oh, that's too bad; I was really hoping I could attend the banquet, I certainly wish you could help me" the enchantress said in a seductive voice, as her eyes made contact with the man.

"On second thought, the Warlock Of The Year banquet is being held in the main ballroom; make sure and have a good time miss" the man replied sounding as if he was under a trance.

The wicked enchantress, Bogel and Weerd walked towards the entrance to the ballroom and prepared to put their dastardly plan into motion.

Meanwhile, Scooby Doo and the gang were sitting in the aforementioned banquet room enjoying the food as well as Vincent Van Ghoul's company; the great warlock and the rest of the gang were marveling at the literally hundreds of Warlocks that were in attendance.

"It certainly looks like a good turnout for the Warlock of the Year banquet this year Mr. Van Ghoul" addressed Fred.

"Yes Fred it appears that the entire magic world is here for this event, and frankly I couldn't be more pleased" Vincent replied.

"Not to mention it's certainly a great honor to be named Warlock of the Year Mr. Van Ghoul," Velma commented.

"Sure is, after all Vincent's the most powerful warlock of them all" Fred replied.

"You're right about that Fred, what a guy, I knew he could do it" Flim Flam added.

"Thank you Fred, Flim Flam, I really don't deserve all this" Vincent remarked.

"Of course you do Mr. Van Ghoul, you should be very proud to be named the Warlock of the Year" addressed Fred.

"It was really nothing Fred, after all I'm only as powerful as the rest of my warlock brethren" Vincent said.

"Mr. Van Ghoul?" addressed Fred.

"Yes Fred?" Vincent replied.

"You know there's something that I've been wondering ever since we met you" Fred questioned.

"What's that Fred?" addressed Vincent.

"What's it like being a warlock?" Fred wondered.

"Well Fred I'm glad you asked, sometimes it can be quite time consuming and quite annoying but it's certainly worth it, why do you ask?" addressed Vincent.

"It's really kind of silly, but I guess I could tell you; to be totally honest, I've often had dreams and thoughts of being a warlock or sorcerer; I'm curious though, do you think I would make a good warlock?" Fred asked.

"Fred, that's certainly an interesting question; I don't know if I've ever been asked that before, I mean a mortal wanting to become a warlock is quite unexpected; there is a lot of training that goes into becoming a warlock and truth be told I was planning on training Flim Flam on the mystic arts and sorcery but if you really want to go through with this I suppose I could teach you" Vincent replied with a questioning tone in his voice.

"Vince, I didn't know you were going to teach me to be a warlock?" Flim Flam said with a surprised tone in his voice.

"Actually Flim Flam it was supposed to be a secret but I guess I can tell you now; plus I had no idea Fred was interested in that sort of thing, it kind of took me off guard" addressed Vincent.

"Thank You Vince, that's very generous I've you and believe me I'll be the best student you ever had well other than Fred" Flim Flam replied.

"You're welcome Flim Flam, and Fred as I mentioned before if you really want to get into magic and sorcery you're more than welcome to join Flim Flam and I when we start training, whenever that is, also Fred to answer your question I think you would make a fine Warlock" Vincent explained.

"Mr. Van Ghoul, I would be more than happy to join you and Flim Flam; thank you for the offer and believe me you won't be disappointed" addressed Fred.

"By the way Fred I've been meaning to ask you; why would you like to be a warlock, it's certainly a dangerous profession and if you're not careful you might wind up like one of the thirteen ghosts but certainly not evil like them" warned Vincent.

"Well I guess I could tell you about it Mr. Van Ghoul, you see back when I was in junior high I used to love a newspaper called _The National Exaggerator_, I used to have a subscription to it and everything; plus I used to kind of annoy the rest of the gang by talking about mole men, aliens, Martians and who knows what other supernatural creatures; but then when we all started high school I started playing sports and forgot all about that stuff with good reason, but then when the rest of the gang and I met you Mr. Van Ghoul the whole thing kind of returned although I'm not going to annoy the gang with that stuff this time like I did when we were all in junior high; plus the realm of the supernatural has always fascinated me, in fact I was a mystery writer for a while and a pretty darn good one if I say so myself, so I guess it's kind of in my blood I guess you could say" addressed Fred.

"Very interesting Fred, I didn't know that was the reason why you wanted to get into magic; but I suppose it's a legitimate reason, thank you for telling me and I'm confident that you will do well in sorcery" addressed Vincent.

"You know Fred that would be kind of interesting, actually it would be hard to picture you as a warlock but I suppose if it's something you really want to do you should go ahead and do it" Daphne remarked.

"I'll say, you know with a warlock in training some of the ghosts and monsters that we face wouldn't dare tangle with Mystery Inc., they wouldn't stand a chance against us whether they be real or fake" Velma added.

"Like that's for sure, plus Scooby and I will have to ease down with our cowardice considering we have two warlocks for friends" Shaggy remarked.

"Reah" Scooby added.

As the cowardly Great Dane and his friends continued chatting with Vincent Van Ghoul, the evil enchantress Nicara with Bogel and Weerd in tow walked through the hotel looking for the main ballroom and the Warlock of the Year banquet.

As the ghostly trio walked down a long hallway filled with numerous doors, behind of which held hotel suites, storage areas among other things; after several minutes Weerd noticed someone coming out of a nearby room and decided to inform his boss about this occurrence.

"Nicara, look I think that might be one of the warlocks from the convention" the smarter of the two ghosts explained.

"Ah so it is, well I was hoping for Vincent Van Ghoul but this gentleman will do just fine" the wicked enchantress said with an evil grin on her face.

The man had gray hair and was wearing a red bow tie and brown suit; the wicked enchantress decided that now was the right time to make her move; she stepped towards the man, smiling as he noticed that the attractive blonde woman was walking right up to him; the man was curious as to the identity of this stranger and decided to introduce himself.

"Good evening, my name is Victor Houdini and what might yours be my dear?" the man asked.

"You can call me Nicara" the blonde temptress said in a somewhat seductive voice.

"Nicara?" Mr. Houdini wondered, he thought for a few seconds before realizing that this woman was not who she said she was, but rather one of the evil specters from the Chest of Demons; the gray haired man then attempted to reconcile his mistake of talking to this enchantress and tried to make a hasty exit before she attempted to use her ghostly abilities.

"I know exactly who you are Nicara and what you are; you will never drain my powers!" Mr. Houdini declared.

"Oh I wouldn't say that, you shall be in my control soon enough" Nicara replied, the wicked enchantress cast her eyes towards the gray haired warlock's face as hearts shot out of them rendering the man helpless and unable to resist the woman's spell.

With the powerful sorcerer unable to move and unable to avoid the woman's grasp; she stepped forward, took Mr. Houdini in her arms and proceeded to kiss him, finally a strange burst of electricity and light surrounded the two as Nicara's hair suddenly became something out of a nightmare, mainly long slithering red snakes that belonged on the creature Medusa and not a normal person.

During the time that all of this was going on, Mystery Inc.'s cowardly Great Dane member as well as his cowardly teenage companion had told the gang that they were getting a little bored and that they were going to take a walk through the hotel for some exercise.

The rest of the gang and Vincent Van Ghoul agreed, told them to be careful and wished them well as they left the grand ballroom and entered into a long hallway; however unbeknownst to Shaggy and Scooby they had entered into the same hallway that Nicara, Bogel, Weerd and Mr. Houdini were in.

The two cowardly detectives walked past numerous doors before turning a corner and seeing the two wicked villains and the evil enchantress as well as the gray haired warlock; the pair wondered what was going on, then decided to get out of sight but still keeping watch on the strange situation.

"Zoinks! Like take a look at that Scoob!" Shaggy said in a whisper making sure that the creepy villains wouldn't hear or spot them.

"Rhat is it Rhaggy?" the Great Dane asked.

"Like it's those two ghosts that tricked us into opening the Chest of Demons in the Himalayas: Bogel and Weerd, but who is that woman with them? And who is that grey haired old man?" Shaggy wondered.

"Rhy rould you rant to rnow rho rhat rwoman is Raggy, rare roing to rask rher ron a rate?" Scooby asked smiling as he teased his master a little.

"No of course not Scooby, like I'm just wondering what that woman is doing to that man; besides she looks like something out a _Late Late Show_ I saw once, almost like Medusa" Shaggy explained.

"Rwho?" Scooby curiously asked.

"Medusa, she was a mythical creature in Greek Mythology and had slithering snakes for hair not to mention she could turn anyone who looked at her to stone" the cowardly teen replied.

"Ri ridn't rhow rou rnew ranything about Reek Ryhtology Raggy" the Great Dane commented.

"Like yeah, I remember learning about that in High School plus I recall Velma saying something about that to me once" the cowardly teen replied.

"Reah rure" the Great Dane remarked teasing his master once again, knowing that he and the bespectacled sleuth had been a dating couple for several years.

"Really like I did study that in high school, but like I never figured that would come in handy now; like I guess it's true what they say, you can always use what you learned in school" the cowardly teen replied.

"Ri ruess so, ry the ray rhat are re roing to do rabout rhat rady rand that ran Raggy?" the Great Dane asked.

"Well like whatever it is it can't be good, because that man looks like he's been hypnotized; Scooby we have to go back to the ballroom and tell the gang what we saw, they and Mr. Van Ghoul might be very interested in this" the cowardly teen explained.

"Rokay Rhaggy" the Great Dane replied.

"But we have to be calm, cool and collective; plus we can't make any noise because it might alert that creepy woman to our whereabouts, ok?" the cowardly teen sleuth commented.

"Right, ret's ro" the Great Dane replied.

With that Shaggy and Scooby slowly exited through the hallway and back towards the grand ballroom trying to be as quiet as mice, however as usual nothing for the cowardly pair was ever easy; for as the two sleuths made their way back through the hotel they bumped into a vending machine, which aroused Nicara's attention after she was finished with Mr. Houdini.

"Where did that noise come from?" the evil enchantress growled.

"I don't know Nicara, but it must have come from the hallway" Weerd remarked.

"Ooh, ooh should we go investigate?" Bogel added.

"No you dimwitted specters, besides it was probably one of the members of the hotel staff or at the worst a mouse or insects; it would probably be a waste of time anyway" the wicked woman explained as she turned her attention back to the elderly warlock.

"What have you done to me Nicara?" the man asked, now released from his trance.

"Simple I have drained your powers you old fool, now you are akin to a helpless pussycat; Bogel, Weerd let's leave Mr. Houdini to his thoughts, however many are left that is and continue our way to the banquet hall" the wicked enchantress explained.

With that Nicara, Bogel and Weerd left the hallway and continued on their wicked scheme; meanwhile Scooby and Shaggy had decided to run all the way back to the grand ballroom and had entered the banquet hall, the two cowardly friends walked back to their table, sat down and were finally able to relax.

Velma saw that the pair of sleuths were clearly exhausted and decided to ask them what the matter was and why they were so exhausted.

"Jinkies what happened to you two, you look like you just saw a ghost" the bespectacled sleuth wondered.

"Like worse, we saw a blonde woman and an old man with a brown suit and gray hair" Shaggy explained.

"What's so scary about that Shag?" Fred wondered.

"Like this woman was kissing this old man and something was happened to him" the cowardly teen replied.

"She was kissing him? Oh how sweet, they must be in love" Daphne remarked.

"Daphne like it wasn't sweet at all, because after this woman kissed this guy her hair turned into snakes and some kind of weird electricity surrounded the both of them" the cowardly teen replied.

"Jinkies, you mean this woman looked like Medusa?" Velma asked.

"Like she sure did, Scooby and I had to split before she did to us what she did to that guy" Shaggy replied.

"Hmm… Shaggy, what did you say this gentleman looked like again?" Vincent asked.

"Like he had gray hair, was wearing a brown suit and red bow tie, why?" Shaggy wondered.

"Interesting, the man you described sounds like an old warlock colleague and friend of mine: Victor Houdini" Vincent replied.

"Jinkies, Houdini? You mean like Harry Houdini, the legendary magician?" Velma wondered.

"Not really Velma, although it is a peculiar coincidence isn't it?" Vincent remarked.

"Actually that is a pretty weird coincidence, by the way isn't that him coming over here?" Velma asked pointing to a man with gray hair and wearing a brown suit who was walking towards the gang's table.

Vincent looked over to where Velma was pointing and noticed that the warlock was indeed walking towards them; Vincent smiled and then motioned for him to come join them at the table, although as he stepped forward the gang could see that something was clearly wrong with him.

"Ah speak of the devil, how are you Victor?" Vincent asked as the man stood in front of Vincent Van Ghoul.

"I'm wonderful Vincent, in fact I can't stay long I have to rendezvous with a beautiful woman" Mr. Houdini replied.

"Victor you sly dog, tell me who the lucky woman is?" Vincent asked.

"She's right over there" Mr. Houdini replied pointing at a woman with blonde hair and wearing a partially pink, partially red dress.

As soon as Vincent Van Ghoul noticed who his friend was pointing at he began choking and gasping, even though he wasn't eating or drinking anything at the moment; afterwards he quickly got up from the table and for some reason began running away from the gang which caused Scooby and company to wonder what was going on.

"Mr. Van Ghoul. What's up?" addressed Fred, curious as to why their warlock friend was making a hasty exit.

"There's no time to explain, we must leave immediately!" Vincent remarked as he headed out of the room with his cape draped partially over his face.

"Jinkies, what was that about?" Velma wondered aloud.

"Like I don't know and I don't think I want to find out" Shaggy replied.

"Yeah, in all the time we've known Vincent I don't think I've ever seen him act or behave like that, almost as if he had become like Shaggy and Scooby all of a sudden" Daphne commented.

"Hey, like what's wrong with the way Scooby's and my personalities and behavior?" Shaggy spoke up, sounding as if the redhead had offended him in some way.

"Reah" Scooby added.

"Sorry Shaggy and Scooby, I didn't mean it like that; I meant that Mr. Van Ghoul is usually brave and not afraid of anything, but when he took a look at that blonde woman I could almost see a hint of terror in his eyes, it just isn't like him and all" Daphne replied, attempting to quickly change her comments so that the cowardly teen and Great Dane wouldn't be mad at her.

"Like since you put it that way Daphne, we don't mind right Scoob?" Shaggy asked his canine companion.

"Reah, re rill rike rou Raphne" Scooby commented.

"Thanks guys and it's no problem" Daphne replied smiling.

"Gang I think I have the reason why Vince is so shy around this woman" Flim Flam spoke up.

"What is it Flim Flam?" Fred asked.

"The two of them must have dated at one time or another, maybe they had a nasty breakup or something, that must be why he's avoiding her" the young boy replied.

"I'm usually good with romance and matters of the heart, but I don't think that Vincent and that woman used to date Flim Flam" Daphne explained.

"Yeah and besides I think there's something fishy going on around this hotel and I think it has something to do with that blonde woman" Velma clarified.

"Like why's that Velma?" Shaggy asked.

"Just take a look around the room Shaggy, every warlock in this room is acting like they're under a spell" Velma explained.

The cowardly teen followed Velma's gaze and almost immediately knew what she was talking about; the bespectacled girl was indeed correct in her comment, every one of the guests in the grand ballroom, with the exception of Scooby and company looked to be hypnotized.

"Zoinks, like I see what you mean Velma" Shaggy remarked.

"And don't look know but that blonde woman is coming this way" the bespectacled girl commented as Nicara walked across the room, specifically towards the gang's table.

Once the blonde enchantress had reached the Great Dane and his friends, the woman decided to see if she could procure some information from Mystery Inc. about their warlock friend.

"Pardon me, but could you tell me in what room Vincent Van Ghoul is staying in?" Nicara asked as she looked at the gang, in particular the blond unofficial leader of the group, the cowardly red shirted teen member of the group and the only canine member of the team.

Seeing that she was quite attractive, Fred, Shaggy and Scooby each looked back at her unknowingly in a somewhat amorous gaze.

"I think we can, but first I have a question for you" Fred asked.

"Very well, what is it?" Nicara replied with an impatient sounding tone to her voice.

"Are you seeing anyone?" Fred asked.

While she knew what exactly was going on and knew that Fred didn't really mean what he said, the redheaded member of the group still shot a dirty look across the table at the blond teen.

"Like good question Fred and I'm wondering something too" Shaggy commented.

"What?" Nicara asked impatiently.

"Are you a mind reader?" Shaggy asked.

"Reah" Scooby added.

"Like come on, read my mind" Shaggy added.

To a lesser extent Velma also knew what was going on and figured that she had to do something before Shaggy did or said something that he was going to regret, so she decided to speak up.

"That's like reading a blank page" Velma remarked with a smile.

"Right on Velma!" Daphne added as she reached over to shake her friend's hand.

While Daphne and Velma each smiled and chuckled under their breath, Fred and Shaggy each shot a dirty look at the two girls across the table.

Trying to get the conversation back on track Nicara tried asking again about Vincent Van Ghoul's whereabouts.

"So just where is old Vincent?" she asked.

"Just why are you so interested in where Vincent is?" Daphne wondered.

"Yes, what do you want with him?" Velma added.

"You see, I'm an old school friend of Vinnie's, we haven't seen each other in quite some time" Nicara replied.

"OK, in that case, Vincent's in room 1313" said Flim Flam.

"Flim Flam, why on earth did you say that?" Daphne asked sounding confused.

"Can't you tell, they're inseparable; she's crazy about him" replied Flim Flam.

"I don't about that Flim Flam, who knows what this woman is really up to" Velma commented.

"Yeah you saw what happened to me, Scooby and Shaggy" Fred added as he, Shaggy and Scooby had returned to normal.

"Like yeah and you heard what Scooby and I told the rest of the gang about what we saw and what she did to that other man; that creepy woman is probably going to drain Vincent's powers next" Shaggy replied.

"If that's so we have to stop her" Daphne said.

"Right, come on gang!" Fred exclaimed.

With that Scooby Doo and the rest of Mystery Inc. headed out of the room and towards a nearby elevator, the Great Dane and his companions walked inside the elevator and Fred pushed the button for Vincent's floor as Scooby and company hoped that they were not too late to stop the sinister enchantress.

After finding out where the great and powerful warlock was staying, the evil enchantress decided to use a little subterfuge to enter Vincent Van Ghoul's room; in this case her chosen deception was voice impersonation.

Nicara knocked on the door and waited for Vincent to answer, the great warlock wondered who exactly was calling on him at this time of night and decided to find out who his mysterious visitor was.

"Yes, yes who is it?" Vincent asked.

"Rit's me Scooby Doo" Nicara answered, using the voice of one of the warlock's mystery solving friends, specifically the only canine member of the group.

"Oh yes, it's good to hear your voice Scooby; come on in" Vincent declared.

The wicked enchantress then entered the room, which frightened Vincent Van Ghoul like nothing else had ever frightened him before.

"Nicara!" the warlock exclaimed.

"Surprised to see me again Vinny?" the blonde enchantress questioned.

"Frankly no, some day I knew you would escape from the Chest of Demons and someday I figured you would be searching for me and others of my kind" Vincent replied.

"Yes Van Ghoul and now that I am free of that accursed chest I can kiss you and drain your powers, now kiss me you fool!" Nicara declared walking ever closer to the powerful warlock.

"Don't waste your breath or your powers Nicara, you'll never kiss me and drain my powers!" addressed Vincent now with his eyes closed trying to avoid looking at the wicked enchantress.

"Now Vinny, you should never say never" she replied now looking right at the powerful mystic.

Back downstairs Scooby and company were trying to figure out how to stop the evil enchantress from taking Vincent Van Ghoul's magical abilities.

"I still don't understand how a woman like that could be so evil, after all she seemed like a woman any guy would want to date" Shaggy remarked.

"You would be surprised Shaggy, besides even the prettiest and most beautiful women have secrets that are so horrible you don't want to find out about them" Daphne explained.

"Right, besides that's what made women like Cleopatra and Mata Hari so deadly; they would force men of power to become their wives or girlfriends just so that they would have full access to their wealth, property and whatever else of value they had" Velma added.

"Like I guess a lot of women do end up doing things that most people would never do" Shaggy replied.

"And that's why we have to stop that wicked enchantress, now come on we have to get up to Vincent's room and stop her before she makes Vincent powerless" Fred explained.

Scooby and the gang ran up the stairs and towards Vincent's room; as the gang got closer to his door they could see a bright light coming from inside the room.

"Zoinks like w-what's that?" Shaggy asked.

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling we might be too late" Fred replied.

Fred opened the door to Vincent's room with the gang following in tow; as they entered the room they saw a large yellow light plus lightning coming from the middle of the room.

The light and the lightning were coming from Nicara as Mystery Inc. could see her hair becoming hissing snakes similar to the mythical creature known as Medusa; she was kissing Vincent Van Ghoul, thereby draining his powers and putting him under her evil spell.

"You're too late!" Nicara yelled; the wicked enchantress quickly ran out of the room past Scooby and the gang, of course Scooby and friends were more concerned with saving Vincent to worry about Nicara at the moment.

"Vincent, are you okay?" Flim Flam asked.

"Yes, I am fine" Vincent replied in a monotone sounding voice.

"Good" Fred replied.

"Wait, where is my Nicara?" Vincent asked.

"Not to worry Vince, you won't be seeing her again any time soon" Flim Flam remarked.

"Oh, I guess I can tell you the good news then" Vincent said.

"What?" Velma asked.

"After today you won't be hearing the name Nicara ever again" Vincent replied.

"Really that's great" Daphne commented.

"Good, because after today her name will be Mrs. Vincent Van Ghoul" Vincent replied.

"No!" the gang replied in unison.

"Yes and you're all invited to the wedding" Vincent said.

Scooby and company had a shocked look on each of their faces as their warlock ally told them of his plans, naturally the gang tried to convince him to not marry the wicked enchantress but eventually Mystery Inc. gave up on trying to convince Vincent that this was the wrong thing to do, as the group of sleuths stood inside the bedroom they realized that this might be the last time they would ever see their warlock comrade.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Inside the Wart and Warlock Hotel, Vincent Van Ghoul, one of the world's most powerful warlocks stood before Scooby Doo and the rest of his friends; he had just told them of his plans to wed Nicara, and evil enchantress from the infamous chest of demons; a few minutes passed and once again Scooby and company attempted to talk their magical colleague out of walking down the aisle.

"Vincent, you can't marry that Nicara, she's an evil enchantress and she's going to take your powers leaving you defenseless against her and any other ghosts" Daphne remarked as she attempted to reason with the warlock.

"I don't care, I love Nicara and you can't keep her away from me" Vincent replied.

"Well gang, I don't think Vincent's going to listen to reason so I think there's only one thing left for us to do and that's to hide Mr. Van Ghoul before that wicked woman tries anything else" Fred explained.

"Right!" the rest of Mystery Inc. replied in unison.

Scooby and company then approached Vincent slowly, which caused the great warlock to wonder what the teenage sleuths were up to.

"Wait, what are you doing, stop!" Vincent declared, still sounding like a zombie.

The group of adolescent investigators was able to shove Vincent Van Ghoul into a nearby closet; the gang locked the closet and trapped the temporarily hypnotized warlock inside.

"Phew, I guess Vincent's safe from that creepy Nicara" Flim Flam explained while wiping his brow.

"Yes for now, but eventually that enchantress and whatever army that creep has are going to figure out where Mr. Van Ghoul is and will try to take him by force" Velma remarked.

"Velma's right, we have to make sure that nothing happens to Vincent and the only way to do that is for the six of us to keep a close eye on Mr. Van Ghoul and on Nicara as well" Fred explained.

"But like how are we going to keep an eye on him when he's hypnotized and could use his powers against us?" Shaggy asked.

"Don't worry Shaggy, Vincent may be under a spell but he won't use his warlock powers against his friends" Fred explained.

"Like I sure hope not" the cowardly teen replied.

"Okay gang now that we have our plan, let's put it into action; now here's what we'll do" Fred explained; a few seconds later he and the rest of Mystery Inc. got into a small huddle and began devising their plan, albeit in whispered tones so that no one would hear them.

However the blond teen would soon be proven wrong, because outside the door Bogel and Weerd were listening to the gang's conversation; the two ghosts' then decided to let their boss know of what was going on as they vanished from the hallway and rematerialized back downstairs.

Meanwhile after she had already drained the powers of most of the other warlocks staying in the hotel, Nicara was standing in another hallway in another part of the hotel and looking forward to her encounter with Vincent Van Ghoul later in the evening.

"My plan is working perfectly so far, soon I shall drain Vincent Van Ghoul of every ounce of his warlock powers, and then I shall be the most powerful enchantress in the world!" Nicara said as she laughed evilly.

A few minutes later Bogel and Weerd were walking or floating around and were searching for their boss to tell her where Vincent was; Nicara meanwhile happened to be walking in another direction and a few moments later crashed into the two ghosts.

"Bogel, Weerd, what are you doing here? I thought I told you two to keep an eye on Vincent and those pesky kids and to keep them out of my hair!" the evil enchantress growled.

"They're in your hair?" Weerd asked.

"Then you should try a good dandruff shampoo" Bogel added.

"Silence!" Nicara declared.

"We're sorry sir, ma'am, your evilness" Weerd said as he and Bogel were now groveling at Nicara's feet.

"Will you two stop it! Now, I'll ask you again, what are you doing down here?" the blonde enchantress asked.

"We found out where Vincent Van Ghoul is, and those kids are watching him" Weerd explained.

"Well, you don't say; now I'm glad you two came and found me, now come on, I believe we shall pay a call on old Vinnie" Nicara explained.

"Ooh, ooh, now that's evil!" Bogel said as he and Weerd followed the enchantress into the elevator; after being transported to the top level of the hotel, Bogel, Weerd and Nicara got out of the elevator and walked into the hallway.

"Now, you two get out of sight until those kids leave the room, then take care of them; I don't want anything interrupting my plans tonight, got it?" Nicara explained.

"Right boss" Weerd said as he and Bogel floated down the hallway before finding two suits of armor to hide in.

"In here Bogel" the smarter of the two ghosts remarked as he pointed to the armor before entering it.

"Right Weerd" Bogel replied as he did the same.

Meanwhile in front of Vincent Van Ghoul's door, the warlock was still attempting to reason with Scooby and company to let him out of the closet that he was locked in, albeit still under Nicara's hypnotic power.

"Let me out, let me out!" Vincent said while banging on the door from the inside.

"Not a chance Mr. Van Ghoul. We're doing this for your own good" Velma explained.

"But I must be reunited with my beloved Nicara!" the warlock replied.

"Like we said Mr. Van Ghoul, no way; besides I have a feeling you won't be seeing that woman ever again" Fred commented.

But the blond teen would be quite wrong because when Nicara reached the door, she found that it was locked and that she wasn't able to get it open; so she did what any good villain would do, she used her villainous powers to open it, in this case she pulled on the door as she did a few moments prior; but this time she was able to pull it open, enabling her to walk right inside.

As the wicked enchantress stepped inside the room she saw the rest of Mystery Inc. and realized that they were in the way; Nicara growled at the gang as she looked around the room for Vincent Van Ghoul, finally she was fed up with the group and demanded to know where the warlock was.

"All right where is my Vinnie, what have you done with him?" the blonde enchantress asked, sounding somewhat perturbed.

"We're not going to tell you where Vincent is Nicara, and there's no way you'll ever find him" Fred explained.

"Oh really? You know it's too bad that you won't let me talk to him or find him, because I was going to ask you three each on a date" the blonde woman said as she flipped her hair to the side and using her trance like powers gazed into the respective eyes of Fred, Shaggy and Scooby.

"No thanks Nicara, we know about your Trance of Love and you aren't going to be using it on Vincent any time soon" Daphne remarked; naturally because she was a woman Nicara's powers didn't work on her, which was good news, albeit temporarily.

"Oh I wouldn't be too sure about that" Nicara said as her eyes were continually transfixed on Fred, Shaggy and Scooby; naturally the trio of sleuths were not warlocks but just as before, Nicara's powers worked on them just as well, dazing them a little.

"Now, why don't you three move out of the way and I'll give you my phone number later after I see Vincent for a while" the wicked woman explained in a seductive sounding voice.

"Of course, come on Shaggy and Scooby, let's leave Nicara to her work" Fred remarked in a trance like voice as he and the two cowardly sleuths stepped out of the way and sat on the bed.

"You're forgetting one thing Nicara, you still have the two of us and Flim Flam to deal with as well" Velma explained as she Daphne and their young comrade walked over to the closet and were now standing stood in front of it.

"Oh please, you two girls are barely a threat to me and as for that young boy, he's a little out of my league" Nicara explained as she moved her hand towards the two female sleuths and their young teammate; the wicked woman's powers caused the trio to be moved towards the bed where Fred, Shaggy and Scooby were already sitting, while the gang from Mystery Inc. looked on half dazed and half surprised at the events that were happening inside the room.

"Now that you meddling mortals are out of my way I can rendezvous with my beloved Vincent Van Ghoul!" Nicara said with a sinister smirk on her face.

The wicked enchantress stepped away from the bed, as well as from Scooby and company and attempted to locate Vincent; unfortunately for Mystery Inc., the aforementioned warlock had decided to resume pounding on the door to the closet as he attempted to get the enchantress's attention, considering he had heard the woman speaking outside the door.

"Nicara, Nicara, where are you?" the sorcerer said, still under the woman's evil spell.

The sinister enchantress happened to hear the sorcerer's cries from inside the closet and headed in the direction of where the noise was coming from; after walking a few steps, she reached the closet and using her sinister gaze looked at the door, a few seconds later Nicara's eyes had caused the closet door to fling open and she stepped over to it; the sinister enchantress had an evil grin on her face as a familiar figure clad in a black cape stepped out of the closet and towards her.

"Nicara, I've missed you" Vincent said.

"As have I Vincent, now I do believe it's time to finish what we started, if that's all right with you?" Nicara explained.

"Yes my beloved" Vincent replied.

"Good, now what do you say we have a little night on the town and see what New Orleans has to offer" Nicara explained.

"Anything you say my dear" Vincent said.

"Wonderful, now let's get going, it's getting a little crowded in here" Nicara replied, while looking at Scooby and company.

With that Vincent and Nicara headed out the door of the sorcerer's bedroom and towards the upstairs hotel elevator with Mystery Inc. following closely behind, attempting to reason with their hypnotized friend.

"Wait Mr. Van Ghoul, you don't know what you're doing!" the now back to normal Fred yelled to the gray haired warlock as he disappeared into the elevator as the doors closed leaving the pair to their thoughts; meanwhile Mystery Inc. stood in the hallway trying to figure out their next move.

"Mr. Van Ghoul's gotten himself into serious danger, we've got to save him" Velma explained.

"Don't worry Velma, we'll save Vincent no matter what it takes; plus we've got to stop Nicara from kissing him and draining his powers" Fred replied.

"But Fred, we don't have any idea where they might go? They could be halfway into the next county before we catch up with them" Daphne commented.

"Don't worry Daphne, I think I've come up with a plan to derail any sinister plans that enchantress might have in store for Vincent" Fred explained.

"What is it Freddie?" Daphne asked.

"Simple Daphne, we do what any good person would do in the same situation; we have to try and break them up once and for all" Fred clarified.

Later that same evening, the scene switches to the streets of the Crescent City, specifically to a Horse Drawn Carriage with Nicara and Vincent sitting in the back and Bogel and Weerd driving up front; at the moment the wicked enchantress has her hands all over the warlock as the woman is in the midst of telling her new beau something important as they listen to festive music being played by street musicians.

"Oh Vinnie, doesn't this music make you want to kiss me?" Nicara asked.

"Not really" Vincent replied; all the while not noticing that Mystery Inc. was walking right next to the carriage dressed in musicians outfits while carrying and playing various musical instruments.

"I don't know about you, but I think there's nothing I love more than a good horseless carriage ride" Flim Flam said as he had joined the couple inside the carriage.

Clearly Nicara had heard enough and was now ready to dispose of Mystery Inc. as she ordered the two ghostly drivers of the carriage to speed up; Bogel and Weerd complied with the request which caused the horse to buck and Mystery Inc. to fall off the carriage onto the street as Nicara and Vincent went on their way undaunted.

"Huh, I guess some people don't appreciate fine music" Daphne quipped.

"Never mind that now Daphne, we have to keep up with Nicara and Vincent before something happens to Mr. Van Ghoul" Fred explained.

Some time had passed as the scene shifts to the New Orleans waterfront, specifically the Mississippi River; the gang then arrives on the scene and notices Bogel and Weerd driving a gondola with Nicara and Vincent inside the boat enjoying a romantic ride down the river.

"They're getting away in that boat, come on gang we've got to stop them!" Fred declared.

"Hey you guys where are you going?" Velma asked.

"Where we won't be bothered!" Nicara responded.

Bogel and Weerd continued to pilot the gondola down the majestic Mississippi, while inside the gondola Nicara was still attempting to kiss Vincent.

"Vinnie, it's getting late, how about a little smooch?" the wicked enchantress asked.

"Not yet Nicara, I just want to enjoy the ride and enjoy your company" Vincent replied while holding the woman's hand.

"That suits me just fine" Nicara replied with a half sinister, half cheerful look on her face.

Meanwhile Mystery Inc. had also rented a gondola and were now dressed in tourist clothes, while Flim Flam in a tour guide's clothing directed them in their chase.

"Stroke, stroke, stroke!" the young boy declared as he shouted through a megaphone.

"It looks like we're gaining on them gang!" Fred explained.

Back inside Nicara and Vincent's gondola, the two lovebirds were enjoying their date, or at least they were until Flim Flam and the rest of the gang's gondola caught up with them.

"Evening folks, hope I'm not interrupting, but let me ask you something; what moonlight cruise without the Flim Flam Love Bird Excursion Tour, half price tonight only and you're in luck because the tour is just beginning" the young boy explained as he put down a small plank which led from Mystery Inc.'s gondola to Vincent and Nicara's gondola.

All the while Nicara was shaking her fist and looking quite upset that her and Vincent's date was getting continually interrupted; a few minutes later after the gang had joined their warlock friend and the wicked enchantress, Flim Flam once again began acting like a tour guide.

"On your left is the jewel of Louisiana, New Orleans" the young boy explained while the gang oohed and aahed the entire time, not to mention Bogel and Weerd were doing the same thing; now however Nicara was really steamed and she decided to put a stop to the gang's meddling.

"Enough of this, Bogel, Weerd take care of them!" Nicara commanded; within a minute, Bogel and Weerd replied as they raised their oars and attempted to take care of Mystery Inc., unfortunately the two ghosts didn't seem to have a good sense of balance as the boat began rocking back and forth.

"No, you idiots, we'll capsize!' Nicara replied; naturally the two specters didn't listen to her and they along with Mystery Inc., Nicara and Weerd took a dunking in the water as the boat turned over, but luckily for the gang Scooby was prepared for this emergency and a few moments later the gang and Vincent were floating, inside the Great Dane's rubber duckie float.

Back inside or rather atop the gondola that Nicara was riding, the wicked enchantress was once again quite displeased with the two specters and decided to give them a piece of her mind.

"You blundering idiots, I'll report you to the Ghoulish Review Board for this!" she growled.

"No Nicara, not that, anything but that!" Weerd remarked.

"Yeah, just give us another chance, please?" Bogel added.

"All right, but this is your last chance and this time no slip ups; by midnight tonight Van Ghoul will kiss me, and his powers will be mine!" Nicara growled.

At the moment Scooby Doo and company had managed to get Vincent back to the docks and out of harm's way, specifically away from where Nicara could find him; but knowing the evil enchantress she would find a way to get Vincent to kiss her before midnight, so it was up to Scooby and company to stop that from happening, because if they didn't they would lose a powerful ally in their warlock friend Vincent Van Ghoul.

Author's Notes: The part of the chapter where Nicara uses her trance of love to get Fred, Shaggy and Scooby out of the way brings to mind an interesting plot hole in the original TV episode which I used for this story. In the original episode Nicara said that her Trance of Love works only on warlocks, however in the show (and in this story) she hypnotizes a hotel maitre de into allowing the trio into the Warlock of the Year banquet, so her statement is contradictory. Basically if her trance only works on warlocks, then how was she able to hypnotize the hotel worker? So from there I figured if the trance works on a hotel worker, then why wouldn't it work on Fred, Shaggy and Scooby, so in my version of the TV episode she does just that, hypnotizing the two male teenage sleuths and the male Great Dane so that they are out of Nicara's way when she tries to find Vincent.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Later on that evening the gang was able to get Vincent Van Ghoul back to his room at the Wart and Warlock Hotel, for the moment it seemed that the group of sleuths and their Great Dane were through with the sinister Nicara, but alas as Scooby and company soon would find out their current foe was one of those villains who could not and would not give up in her attempted conquest of the gang's warlock friend; with the evil enchantress still trying to kiss Vincent, the gang decided to do some surveillance work, while the youngest member of the group decided to stay behind and watch his mentor, which didn't sit well with the sorcerer at all.

"Let me out of here, let me out of here!" Vincent said, banging on the door to his room.

"Sorry Vince, we have to keep you locked up in here so Nicara can't sink her claws into you" Flim Flam explained, while sitting on the bed eating an apple.

"Nicara, my beloved, where are you?" Vincent asked, sounding somewhat depressed that he and his possible bride were separated, of course as a result of the spell she put on him, he really didn't mean quite what he said.

Meanwhile a few miles away outside of a frightening looking and most definitely haunted house as a nearby clock struck the hour of ten; on the front steps of the spooky looking house two familiar ghosts were chatting with their equally ghostly boss.

"Ooh, this place will be perfect for the wedding Nicara" Weerd remarked.

"Yeah and my old cemetery's right next door, I've got some friends we can invite to the ceremony" Bogel replied.

"Now, all I need is the groom; if I don't kiss Van Ghoul by midnight tonight, I lose the chance to drain his power" Nicara explained.

"You've got nothing to worry about Nicara" Weerd commented.

"Yeah, we'll take care of everything" Bogel added as he and Weerd dropped into a fountain which they had been sitting on and as a result splashed Nicara.

"If you don't, I'll take care of you!" the wicked enchantress declared.

Meanwhile in a small bush located below a Jazz Club, a familiar looking bespectacled teenager dressed in a trench coat and carrying a walkie talkie let the rest of her friends know of her position.

"This is trench coat calling chewing gum and Mr. Clean, trench coat calling Chewing Gum and Mr. Clean, come in?" Velma said.

Inside the Wart and Warlock Hotel, specifically in a hallway stood a familiar looking redhead carrying a walkie talkie and wearing a salesperson's clothing, while nearby stood a familiar looking blond teenager wearing a janitor's clothing and also carrying a walkie talkie.

"I read you loud and clear trench coat" Daphne remarked.

"Likewise, any action so far?" Fred added.

"Negative" Velma replied.

"Well, keep your eyes and ears open anyway; if Nicara tries to get Vincent again, grab her" Fred explained.

"Roger, over and out" Velma replied.

"Chewing Gum and Mr. Clean calling Soda Pop and Milkshake, chewing gum and Mr. Clean calling Soda Pop and Milkshake, do you read me?" Fred asked.

Meanwhile atop the Wart and Warlock hotel sat a familiar light brown haired teenager and his Great Dane; the teen wore a military type hat and carried a milkshake container, while he held a soda bottle to his ear while the Great Dane carried a set of binoculars and was also wearing a military style type of head gear.

"Like read you like a book Fred and Daphne" Shaggy explained.

"Any signs of witches, phantoms or ghostly apparitions?" Fred asked.

"Nope, nothing but a couple of harmless gargoyles; hang on while I check the street" Shaggy said, before putting the soda bottle and milkshake container down.

The Great Dane looked over at the two items and figured "Hey, if there's nothing going on, I guess I could have a little pick me up", so he picked up the soda and milkshake and began drinking them; as a result of this, the pair of sleuths began hearing strange noises on the two devices, because they doubled as walkie talkies, and as a result of that, they wondered what was happening up on the roof of the building, before the Great Dane gave a refreshing sigh.

"Something tells me we should have put those two on Elevator duty Daphne" Fred explained.

"You know Freddie, something tells me you're right" Daphne replied.

Back on the roof of the hotel Shaggy and Scooby were relaxing, at least temporarily; but they were unaware that the two of them would soon encounter something quite strange.

"Sure is a nice view from up here, eh Scoob?" Shaggy asked.

Just a few hundred feet above them floated two familiar ghosts; the sinister specters noticed Shaggy and Scooby relaxing and decided to have a little fun with them, albeit in a ghostly fashion.

"Ooh, let's scare their lights out, Mr. Bogel!" Weerd explained.

"Delighted, Mr. Weerd" Bogel replied.

With that the two ghosts quickly floated down and possessed the two stone gargoyles that were just in front of where Shaggy and Scooby were sitting; within a few seconds the two stone statues began roaring as they came to life and began slowly crawling up towards the two of them.

"You know Scoob, this lookout job is a piece of cake" Shaggy remarked.

Suddenly the two gargoyles were now right next to Shaggy and Scooby began roaring, which caused the teen sleuth and his canine companion some distress as they looked over and saw what the two formerly stone figures.

"Yow!" Shaggy and Scooby said in unison.

"Like I guess it should have been Devils Food Cake, quick Scoob where's the Milkshake walkie talkie?" Shaggy asked.

The Great Dane answered his master by pointing towards his throat, which to Shaggy meant that the canine swallowed it, so of course the cowardly teen walked over and began shouting down the canine's throat.

"Fred, Daphne, help!" Shaggy shrieked as the two gargoyles came closer; with no other options Shaggy and Scooby both took a deep breath and slid down a drain pipe which followed alongside the building, then crashed through a store awning before landing in the bushes, which was where Velma still was.

"Ooh Jinkies; this is trench coat, and I've just been splattered by soda pop and milkshake, over" Velma said as she began falling backwards while holding her head, luckily Shaggy and Scooby were there to catch her and bring her back to her feet.

"Thanks guys, but what were you running from anyway?" she asked.

"Like a couple of Gargoyles that came to life" Shaggy explained.

"Reah raroyles" Scooby added.

"I doubt that highly; but something does tell me that we better get reorganized before anything else happens" Velma explained.

Back inside the Wart and Warlock Hotel, Vincent Van Ghoul was now sitting on a bed continuing to pine for Nicara while Flim Flam continued to watch over him, while eating a banana.

"Nicara, my sweet Nicara, where are you?" Vincent asked.

"You gotta get over this Vince, come on forget about Nicara, she's got you under a spell" Flim Flam explained.

"Nonsense" Vincent replied, still oblivious as to what was happening.

At that moment, there was a knock on the bedroom door; Flim Flam heard the noise and decided to ask who was attempting to enter the room.

"Who is it?" the young boy asked.

"Maid Service, we've come to clean up" a voice said, coming from outside the door.

"Uh just a second" Flim Flam said as he walked over to the door and opened it; standing in the doorway however were Bogel and Weerd dressed in maid outfits.

"We'll start with your dirty laundry" the disguised Weerd explained as he and Bogel headed over to the bed, where Vincent Van Ghoul was lying.

"Good gracious, these sheets are filthy" Weerd said as he attempting to take the sheets off the bed.

"Not to mention the bed" Bogel replied as he held a large white laundry bag open, while his fellow ghost pushed the bed that Vincent was laying on into the bag.

Flim Flam noticed all of this and quickly got in front of the door, cutting off the two ghosts escape, albeit temporarily.

"Hey where are you going with that stuff?" the youngster asked.

"Uh, well, we're just taking it down to the laundry room" Weerd explained, still attempting to filch Vincent from the room.

"Okay, then why not use the laundry chute?" Flim Flam said as he walked over to the other side of the room and held open a hatch which had the word laundry above it.

"Oh shoot, we forgot" Bogel said; however he was unaware that he and his fellow ghost were stepping on a banana peel and were about to lose their balance.

The two ghosts stumbled and as a result dropped the laundry bag and were flung towards the laundry chute and down it, while Flim Flam continued to hold the chute door open.

"So much for the dirty laundry" the youngster said after closing the chute door.

A few seconds later the young boy heard the door to the room open as Scooby and company quickly rushed in to join their juvenile comrade; naturally the five of them had heard the commotion and decided to see what the fuss was.

"Is Mr. Van Ghoul all right?" Velma asked, seeing the large laundry bag.

"Hey, no problem; you're fine right Vince?" Flim Flam asked.

"I must prepare for my wedding" the warlock replied as he stuck his head out of the large bag.

"Still a little zombied out, but otherwise fine" Flim Flam explained.

Meanwhile back inside one of New Orleans' many cemeteries, Bogel and Weerd had returned to speak with Nicara; but as usual the wicked enchantress was displeased with the pair and was equally displeased that they had failed to capture Vincent Van Ghoul yet again, and this time it was painfully clear that she was fed up with the two of them and their bumbling.

"You worthless, incompetent, foolish, blithering nincompoops!" Nicara growled.

"We tried Nicara, we really did, but that kid wouldn't let us near Van Ghoul" Weerd explained, pleading with the wicked woman.

"What are you going to do to us?" Bogel asked, also on his knees and pleading with the woman.

"What I should do is do what you suggested earlier tonight, and that's to use my kiss to drain your powers! On second thought, if I did that I might catch a germ and become as stupid as you are" Nicara said.

Meanwhile a nearby clock struck the hour of 11 o'clock and it was becoming apparent to the villainous enchantress that she need to figure out a plan and soon.

"Time is running out and my kiss will lose its force at midnight" the evil woman explained.

"Are you going to postpone the wedding?" Weerd asked.

"No, I'm going to call in your replacements!" Nicara growled.

With Bogel and Weerd looking on, the wicked enchantress began casting a very peculiar spell, to say the least; Nicara raised her hands to the sky and spoke a series of very evil and very frightening magic words, frightening even to the two ghosts who were her associates until hat point.

"Spirits rise, the moon is full; now bring to me Vincent Van Ghoul!" Nicara said as all manner of spirits, phantoms, ghosts and other apparitions began rising from their graves in the cemetery; the supernatural forces then began their exodus from the graveyard and headed for the Wart and Warlock Hotel where they would complete the wicked woman's evil task by bringing her the gang's warlock friend.

Meanwhile back in said hotel Vincent Van Ghoul laid on his bed, still pining over his enchantress fiancée while Scooby and the gang were still attempting to figure out how to snap their magical comrade out of his trance, if they could do so at all.

"I must find my true love Nicara" Vincent said.

Suddenly the gang heard strange voices coming from outside the hotel, the voices began to speak in a frightening tone, considering they had all just come from one of the city's hundreds of graveyards and all as one they clearly stated their evil purpose.

"Vincent Van Ghoul, we have come to take you to your bride to be, Nicara the Enchantress!" the swarm of poltergeists said as they now surrounded the hotel and the room that the gang were currently in.

Suddenly the spirits formed into an immense whirlwind, a few seconds later the ghostly tornado broke through the roof of the hotel and into Vincent's room; the spectral whirlwind then snatched up the warlock and spirited him through the roof and into the night sky of New Orleans, as Scooby and friends watched in amazement, unable to do anything to stop Vincent from being snatched.

"I don't believe it!" Fred exclaimed in horror.

"Jeepers!" Daphne added.

"Jinkies!" Velma said.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy shrieked.

"Roh no!" Scooby added.

With this strange occurrence the gang knew they had only one option to save their hypnotized friend and that was to follow the swarm of spirits to their destination.

"Don't lose sight of him gang!" Fred declared as Mystery Inc. ran out of the hotel in hot pursuit.

"Jinkies, look!" Velma remarked as she pointed ahead of the gang towards the other end of the street.

Unfortunately for Scooby and company they had ran right into the middle of a group of musicians performing in the city's annual Mardi gras celebration; the musicians then escorted the group, albeit unwillingly down the street and back the other way.

"Jeepers, we'll never catch up with Vincent now!" Daphne remarked.

Meanwhile the group of ghosts traveled through the skies of the Crescent City and towards the cemetery where Nicara and Vincent were set to be married; in addition most of the warlocks at the Warlock of the Year banquet, albeit still hypnotized were also in attendance as it looked like Mystery Inc. was most likely going to lose Vincent Van Ghoul once and for all.

"Look Weerd, its Van Ghoul!" Bogel said, while playing a guitar.

"And in the nick of time" Weerd replied while playing the organ as he pointed to a nearby clock which was now getting closer and closer to striking the hour of midnight; the two ghosts began playing their version of the Wedding March as Vincent looked around and wondered if his bride would show up.

"Where is my bride?" the warlock asked.

A few moments later Nicara walked towards the warlock, led by two zombie bridesmaids and wearing a blood red dress, a long white veil and carrying a bouquet of dead roses; meanwhile in the streets of New Orleans, Scooby and company were still desperately trying to catch up to Vincent Van Ghoul in order to stop him from marrying Nicara.

"I don't see Vincent any where, I hate to say it Fred, but I think we've lost Vincent for good" Daphne said.

"No we haven't, we just have to find out where that wedding is taking place" the blond teen replied.

"Right and before Vincent Van Ghoul makes the biggest mistake of his life and becomes Vincent Van Fool" Velma explained.

Suddenly Velma and Shaggy felt a pair of hands reaching out and grabbing their shoulders; at first the gang didn't know whether to run or to turn around, but eventually they made the right choice, because as they turned around they saw a very familiar elderly gentlemen wearing a brown suit.

"I've been looking all over for you" the man said.

"Mr. Houdini!" Velma said, instantly recognizing the man.

"You look terrible" Fred commented.

"Reah, rawful" Scooby added.

"What do you expect, I lost all my warlock powers; but we can't let the same thing happen to Vincent" Mr. Houdini explained.

"Don't worry Mr. Houdini, we won't" Velma replied.

"The power of Nicara's kiss will end at midnight, you must delay the wedding until then" Mr. Houdini explained.

"But where is the wedding?" Fred asked.

"About a mile from here at the old town cemetery" Mr. Houdini explained.

"Like where else" Shaggy bemoaned.

Back inside the cemetery, Nicara was patiently waiting, or impatiently waiting to become Mrs. Vincent Van Ghoul as she waited for the nuptials to be completed.

"It's almost midnight, get this ceremony over with!" the wicked enchantress said as she and Vincent stood in front of the preacher, who looked like the Grim Reaper albeit with a brown cloak instead of the traditional black one.

Meanwhile at that exact moment, Scooby and the rest of Mystery Inc. with Mr. Houdini in tow arrived at the graveyard and watched the proceedings from behind a nearby hedge as the preacher began to speak.

"Dearly departed, we are gathered here tonight to bring together this warlock and this enchantress for eternity" the ghostly preacher said as he began.

"We've got to stall them guys; and I think I have the perfect plan: it's time for operation triplets!" Fred declared.

"If anyone present feels these two should not be joined in wedlock, spook now or forever hold your peace" the preacher said.

"Stop this wedding immediately!" said a voice coming through the crowd; it was Fred dressed in an outfit that looked similar to one that Daphne's father would wear came towards the warlock and enchantress, along with the red-haired teen who was wearing a bathrobe, hair curlers and carrying a rolling pin.

"What's going on here?" Nicara asked.

"I would ask you the same question young lady, I am this woman's father" Fred explained.

"Yes and that man is my husband" Daphne remarked.

"What is this, what proof do you have of such a claim?" Nicara asked.

"You want proof, I'll give you proof, come out children" Daphne said.

It was at that moment that Velma, Shaggy and Scooby walked out and joined the party dressed in baby clothes, including diapers and bonnets.

"Dada, dada!" The trio said in unison.

"We love you dada!" Shaggy remarked in baby talk as the three sleuths hugged Vincent.

"Why these brats don't look a thing like my Vinnie!" Nicara commented, clearly unamused at the group's charade.

"No, but number four does; come out son" Daphne called; with that Flim Flam walked out, dressed in the same clothes as Vincent Van Ghoul, plus he wore the same mustache as the warlock; in other words he was a miniature version of the sorcerer.

"Hiya pops!" Flim Flam said.

"Son?" Vincent questioned, clearly confused at what was going on, even if he was hypnotized.

"This is absurd!" Nicara declared as she walked over to the youngster and pulled the boy's disguise off.

"Would you believe I'm adopted?" Flim Flam said.

With that the enchantress's zombie bridesmaids grabbed Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, Velma and Flim Flam as they held them in place so they wouldn't run off; meanwhile a nearby clock was chiming again and Nicara knew that it was now or never if she intended to steal Vincent's powers.

"Oh no, it's midnight, there's no time for the ceremony, just kiss me you fool!" the wicked enchantress explained as she reached in for the kiss and the kill; suddenly there was a whirlwind of red, white and yellow surrounding the couple, watching this the gang feared the worst for their friend but they were wrong as it appeared that Vincent was safe.

"No!" Nicara growled.

"Hey how about that? It's after midnight" Fred explained.

"Right and Nicara's kiss has lost its power" Daphne replied.

"You lose Nicara" Vincent said, pulling away from the evil enchantress.

"Vincent's power is too much for her, he's overcoming the spell" Mr. Houdini explained.

"Hey what did you expect, Vince is warlock of the year after all" Flim Flam remarked.

"You've got that right Flim Flam and he deserves it" Fred replied.

At that moment each and every warlock in attendance at the wedding returned to normal and regained their powers; meanwhile Nicara was beginning to feel a bit drained as a result from being defeated.

"Nicara, your fate is sealed with a kiss" Vincent explained.

Suddenly a strange whirlwind blew through the cemetery and gathered up the zombie bridesmaids and Nicara as well; in addition, each and every specter, ghost and apparition in the cemetery that were floating around became stuck in a vacuum which was heading straight for the Chest of Demons, which Vincent was holding; finally the vacuum caught Nicara and she was transported into the chest but not before delivering a parting shot.

"No! I'll get even with you someday Vincent Van Ghoul!" Nicara yelled before becoming trapped in the Chest where she would remain for all eternity; meanwhile Bogel and Weerd noticed this and decided to get going while the going was good, or bad depending on your point of view.

"There goes the boss Weerd" Bogel said.

"I think the party's over Bogel" Weerd replied; afterwards the two ghosts ran into each other before being smothered by the chest.

"I guess I don't know my own strength" Vincent said with a cheerful smile; it was clear to the gang that their warlock friend was back to his own self again, not to mention he actually chuckled a bit.

"You did it Mr. Van Ghoul, you beat her!" Velma exclaimed.

"Ha ha, that's my Vince, what a guy, what a guy!" Flim Flam said with a happy tone in his voice.

After that Scooby Doo decided to give his warlock friend a kiss as he walked over and licked his face in a sign of friendship.

"Ry rero" the Great Dane said.

"You said it Scooby, and I think it's time we give Vincent our own little celebration; let's here it for the most powerful warlock in the world: Vincent Van Ghoul!" Fred exclaimed as Vincent's fellow warlocks began heading for the gang.

A few moments later the group of warlocks lifted up Vincent and carried him through the cemetery triumphantly, just like a pro or college sports team would lift up a coach or star player after winning a championship, in addition to chanting happily in support of their colleague.

"Warlocks for one, warlock for all, warlocks forever!" the group of sorcerers shouted as they continued to celebrate their colleague's defeat of the evil Nicara; meanwhile Bogel and Weerd were becoming sore losers as they continued complaining about their afterlives.

"You know Bogel, we have to get into another line of work" Weerd said.

"Yeah, you're right Weerd; this ghost stuff is killing us" Bogel replied while crying.

With the sinister enchantress Nicara defeated and Vincent along with the rest of the warlocks back to normal, Scooby Doo and the rest of his mystery solving friends were able to relax and actually enjoy the rest of Mardi gras with their warlock colleague. There were a few humorous moments during that time, specifically when Fred and Flim Flam spoke with Vincent about their future warlock and sorcery training and Fred asked the warlock if his ascot would work well with a cape, to which Vincent replied "An ascot and a cape? What are you a distant cousin of Superman?"; naturally the gang laughed at that comment and enjoyed their time in the Deep South, but soon enough the gang knew that they would have to get serious and return to ghost chasing where they would continue their worldwide quest to track down each and every one of the spirits from the sinister Chest of Demons.

Author's Notes: I was a bit at a loss in trying to figure out what to end the story with, but eventually I was able to figure something out, hopefully everybody enjoys it and makes sure to read and review my stories as always.


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